The Only Thing
The only thing that can penetrate
this moldy mansion overgrown with moss
spewing toxins in the air;
a mosquito’s favorite lair.
The only thing that can flip
a shadow, frighten the right
straight eyes of the wolf spider
lying in wait for larger prey or
spineless invertebrate
slopping in a cool stream;
they do not disintegrate
while we are drinking.
The only thing that can smother
the stench of damp decay,
brush past the Indian Pipes
devoid of color,
feasting off the dead;
a clay calabash that blackens,
mourning in your hands.
The only thing that can empty
this treed penal colony
is pure unadulterated blaze
swamping in between
a latticework of limbs.
But before that tide has risen,
night descends.
© khartless 2022, All Rights Reserved
Photo write for the NaPoMo contests held by an exceptional poet that encouraged many many moons ago to keep writing: amaranthine lover aka Christina Borgoyn. Please check her poetry and her writing contests out. Happy Friday, beautiful, creative friends!
Yard Sale of Thoughts 
clay calabash!!! I luv it ❤️❤️
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I popped the video late. I think you’d like her. Did you see it when you viewed? Cheers, and happy Friday!
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thanks 👻👻
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A deeply visceral and haunting read! Great descriptions throughout 🙂
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Thank you. The forest can be oh so spooky, and I’m planning to spend lots of time in one this weekend. 💜Happy Friday, Tom.
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Hope you’re having a fun time in nature 🙂
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I did. It’s lovely today. Thank you. 😁
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Lovely language, and flow, K. Ending stanza is wondrous. I love the idea of a conflagration that is mediated by night descending.
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Thank you kindly, Jeff. The forest craves those last rays of day. And yes, anything is possible. Happy weekend!
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Most welcome, K. Always. Ah, indeed. Thank you. Happy weekend!
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Wonderfully evoked – the dank menace of the forest is quite a powerful image. Love how you build up to what is ‘the only thing’, only for the forest to be spared as darkness approaches.
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Thank you, Marion. Getting a bit of a forest fix today. The milder weather makes all things seem possible.
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I love the earthy swampy feeling throughout this poem, I can almost smell it, kind of damp and sweet 🙂
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Thank you. The woods are lovely today. Tales of their creepiness way over a exaggerated. 💜
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Ha ha! I’m sure they have their moments 😊
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